FluffyChix

I would ditch the wheat, sugar, and any carby crap from your diet (if it's there). Ditch all the grains. Go to a low carb diet filled with great low glycemic veg and healthy proteins and fats. And also do elderberry extract (standardized to 5000iu per dose). I'd do 4x a day when you have symptoms, or do it 1-2 per day as an immune booster. If you can get the capsules, that's best, but if not, look for the one that is only elderberry extract and glycerin (no additional ingredients or sweetener). I'd also look into bone broths (homemade) with lots of herbs (garlic, onion, ginger, lemon grass, cilantro, thyme, parsley--all are immune boosters) and add a variety of mushrooms (from the bulk bin). I'd eat as close to the ground and natural/no-gmo/organic as you can afford and really concentrate on staying hydrated! I'd also look at adding some kelp (seaweed) and also zinc as well as making sure you have plenty of Vit C and Vit D. Sorry you are struggling! Being sick sucks. Also, are you in a house with any flooding or water damage? If so, get out!

He has very long arms and looks very smart!

I do InDesign, so came up with a format and just add to it each month.

Yeah I totally get it! I still feel jealous of all my friends here with much better restriction than me. Lol!! But like you said we just have to be diligent and apply good practices like eating dense protein first and the eating lots of low glycemic veggies.

Of course, only do what he says you can. I was illustrating what I could "get" for 500-550 cals. It's a LOT of food. And I had no issues making 60g protein in 400 cals. Here was one from about 6days out from surgery: The point I was trying to make, is if you concentrate on protein and keep everything else minimal, you CAN stay at 400cals per day (or 500cals). And at 500cals, you get a LOT of food.

Could you draw a stick figure of him?

I have a sh*t-eating grin on my face. I'm so danged happy for you!!!! And here-here to "real world applications" of endurance training!!!!! Wooootttttt!!! Can we get piccys of you 2 yet?

It's very normal to have body dysmorphia. You are losing weight quickly and it's really hard for our brains to adapt and keep up. But counseling is never a bad idea IMHO. Good for you for doing it!!! Also, I totally believe in the side-by-side comparison that others suggested!!! You look fabulous!! I can see how much you've lost, as can everyone else. You will be able to see it soon. It just takes a little bit of time. Part of your issue is you see yourself nekkid--and we are all our own worst critics! And your jeans are too big! Now go shop for some cheap clothes in your size at Goodwill!!!! My new wardrobe is almost all Goodwill $1-$3 clothes, or hand-me-downs from my sissies, or Old Navy super sales of 50% offs! Congrats girlie!!! Here is the side-by-side I had to study to see my losses. I still find it hard to look at myself and still see myself as much heavier than other people say I am. It's completely illogical--but it is real. Body dysmorphia...you bi*ch.

When I was losing the best was between 450-650 cals per day. I could get a buttload of food in with that. Here's one of my logs from that time:

Yay!!!!!!!!! I'm gonna do a 16:8 or 18:6 one of those. LOL with the whole addition of breaking my fast with protein coffee...um, did I mention rationalization here? hahaha! Now, we want to hear more about how you plan to alter your undies. And discuss cardio. Ok, go!

First off, congrats on your surgeries! Ok, next...both of you, stop. And breathe. Take deep breaths and step away from the ledge. It's going to be ok...if you tread carefully. OK? About 2 weeks ago, you had surgery. They SERIOUSLY jacked with your nerves, and your tummy is NOT fully communicating with your brain right now. So even if you "could" feel the same sensation of fullness--you really "can't". And sadly, most of us will never experience "fullness" feelings like we did pre-op. The fullness feelings manifest in different and much less satisfying ways now post-surg. The sadness that comes from missing that is a head thing we have to work on in dealing with food relationships. So what you're doing now, is you are chasing a feeling that you cannot have. Not now anyway. It's called "Chasing Fullness" and it "can" be a pouch killer! Cuz it will cause you to overeat--once in a while/no prob--people screw up. But do it often enough or chronically and you will stretch out your stoma and possibly stretch out your new anatomy--not to mention that you will undo your hard work of conditioning your brain and habits to expect less food. The feeling of fullness may come back with time--in some derivation. Mine did. But it was several months (like month 4) before I started feeling satiety. And also, it came with eating very dense, solid foods. Very. DENSE. Solid. Proteins. Al Dente Veggies. SOLID. LOL. Ok? I still don't feel any restriction with things like salads, and snack foods, or soft foods like yogurt and stuff. So here is what you are eating right now in your current stages: Yogurt: Counts as liquid on my post op plan and is a slider food. It causes very little feelings of fullness for a lot of people. The Cheese--could be an issue -- so don't overdo it. It could constipate you. Some feel fullness from it, others don't. But it's easy to overeat it and the calories rack up QUICKLY. In the early weight loss months, calories are king. Seriously! Eggs, depending on how hard you cook them, could either be slidery or might be just fine! Some have issues/some have satiety from them. Some don't. For me it depends on HOW you cook them. Scramble, fry, soft fry, soft boil--slider. Hard boil, eat by themselves--very filling. And so the moral of this story is, "Just because you CAN eat more, doesn't mean you SHOULD eat more." LOL. Especially right now in your present stage. Eat ONLY what your doc prescribes for quantities. Eat ONLY the meals he tells you to eat. Do not eat anything else. There WILL be hunger--even starvin' marvin' days. When that happens, drink a glass of water and get busy doing something else. Seriously. We will still experience hunger. But hunger doesn't constitute an emergency any more. And I've learned that most of my inappropriate hunger is caused by dehydration. Good luck. You'll figure things out. Just always remember to breathe! ((hugs))

Yay! Glad you're back! I made it to 4pm yesterday then caved. "The Rationalization" is strong in that one... hahaha Did you really trash your scale? I had a ridiculously gorgeous dinner last night. Standing rib was on sale, so made a 1bone roast with horse radish sauce, smashed roasted cauliflower, sauteed mushies, and asparagus in brown butter. It was delish! And oddly, I'm down 1 pound this morning. LOL.Scales suck and are so weird.

Also, never sneer at a salad in a jar, turkey and cheese rollups, lettuce wraps of all kinds, low carb sandwich wraps of all kinds! Cans of sardines (your office mates will hate you), tuna pouches, apples and nut butters, carrots and hummus, rbp and hummus (anything and hummus). I keep lunch fairly simple and try for super low low everything so I can have more cals at dinner without feeling guilty or stopping momentum.

Dang Christine! You look FANCY!!!!! (And gorgeous!!! Congrats!)

Jazz Hands!

Good lord girlie! Just beautiful. Love the whole outfit too!!!

Thank you Ken! Appreciate your hard work!

Just popped up again for the third time:

Hi Ken! Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Here is where I got it: It popped up as a Notification (upper right of screen--third message down) and it keeps popping up. Then when I click on it, it leads me to this screen. But my email is exactly the same. No change. Then it wants me to type in my password. But nothing has changed and it set off alarm bells that maybe some bad guy was trying to capture my password.

You may not be "overeating." But you said your problem is constant hunger. So continual eating without scheduled meals and grazing is a recipe for disaster and actually FUELS your hunger and makes it worse.

Awesome sauce!!!!

You're biggest downfall is only getting 35oz of water. Holy cow! Chronic dehydration if that's really all the water you're getting. What are your other fluids and how much total fluid per day? And yeah, crackers are sliders and will absolutely keep you STARVIN' MARVIN! LOL. And eating all day is effectively eating around your surgery. By your time, I was eating 3 meals per day.

Awesome ones @Matt Z! Keep 'em coming! Let's compile all our tips and tricks into one place then we can just direct people who are struggling to it!!

Dayum!!! 177lbs down? I totally missed that! Pfffft! Don't worry about a little scale hiccup! Congrats girl. You rock!!!